A number of years ago, my husband treated me to dinner at a Szechuan (also known as Sichuan or Szechwan) restaurant in New York City called Wu Liang Ye, that serves authentic Szechuan cuisine. Since then, we’ve been fortunate to have a number of authentic Szechuan restaurants open in Connecticut, including Shu Restaurant in Fairfield.

The most memorable dish from Wu Liang Ye was a spicy Szechuan fish soup. The entire top of the casserole dish was covered with hot dried chili peppers, and the soup was aromatic with Szechuan peppercorns. I tried recreating this at home five years ago, and recently made it again after ordering it from Shu Restaurant.

What Is Szechuan Food?

Szechuan food originates from Szechuan province in southwestern China, and is known for its bold, spicy flavors. Szechuan dishes often leave your mouth tingling with the after effects of Szechuan peppercorns lingering on your tongue. Some people say it leaves a numbing feeling in your mouth. Szechuan cuisine uses a lot of garlic, chili peppers and Szechuan peppercorns.

Szechuan hot bean sauce is another ingredient often seen in Szechuan cooking. Szechuan food is often prepared using steaming, tea-smoking, braising or stir-frying as cooking techniques.Although known for its spicy bold flavors, Szechuan food isn’t always spicy. Szechuan cuisine also includes dishes made with sweet and sour sauces, “fish flavored” garlic sauce (yushiang), and light “white” stir-fry sauces using garlic and ginger as the main flavor components .

How To Make Chinese Szechuan Spicy Fish Soup

Cut fish into 2″ pieces. Mix Fish Marinade ingredients and toss well with fish fillet. Set aside to marinade for 20 minutes. Place celery and napa cabbage in bottom of a heatproof casserole or saucepan. Lay fish pieces on top.

Heat oil in a large pot. Add hot bean sauce and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ginger, garlic, half of scallions, Szechuan peppercorns, and dried chili peppers. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the peppercorns or chili peppers. Add rice wine and soy sauce and stir another minute. Add stock and bring to a boil.

Pour soup on top of fish. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until fish is cooked through.

Instructions

Cut fish into 2" pieces. Mix Fish Marinade ingredients and toss well with fish fillet. Set aside to marinade for 20 minutes.

Heat oil in a large pot. Add hot bean sauce and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ginger, garlic, half of scallions, Szechuan peppercorns, and dried chili peppers. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the peppercorns or chili peppers. Add rice wine and soy sauce and stir another minute. Add stock and bring to a boil.

Place celery and napa cabbage in a clay casserole. Lay marinated fish on top.

Pour soup on top of fish. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes until fish is cooked through.

Serve over steamed brown rice.

Recipe Notes

This is spicy! Reduce the amount of hot chili peppers and Szechwan peppercorns if you like, but for the full effect, I highly recommend using as much as the recipe states. I have also made this using fish on the bone, which is usually cheaper than fish filet. If you don't mind working through the bones, this is definitely a budget-friendly option; otherwise, I suggest using fish filet.

Comments

When I was pregnant this would have been something I would have loved to have. The spicier the better. Now my taste buds are more tame. I would have to reduce the amount of spice. Although, I might be up for a kick in the mouth! It looks really yummy!

Thanks Rochelle and Kalyn,This is definitely not for the light of heart in the spiciness department. However, the heat can be tamed by using less of the hot bean sauce and Szechuan peppercorns. I love trying to recreate dishes that I have really enjoyed while eating out, so I just had to try this!

If possible, I'd like a little more info on the amount of ginger. You call for a 1" piece, but given that it's a 3D item, what are the other dimensions of the piece of ginger? Or how much by weight, if you prefer. Too much can ruin, too little can understate. Thanks, Elizabeth

Hi, this is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. I just tried your recipe and it was incredible. I couldn’t tell the difference from the restaurant version. Do you have other recipes for Chinese dishes? Will be using this recipe for the rest of my life! Thanks so much 🙂

Hi Adam – so glad you enjoyed this recipe. It was such a memorable dish so I was so excited to be able to recreate it at home. I do make a lot of Chinese food, and will work on posting more of these recipes.

This is right up my ally! Looks amazing. Question about the Szechuan hot bean sauce – I have never used that product before – do you know if there are any additives in it like MSG? Or if there is a natural version to look for? Thanks so much!

Nice recipe, I also add a few cups of water to get boiling with the mixture before putting the fish in, and use about a cup of red peppers with a few tablespoons of the Szechuan peppercorns ( I think my lips are tingling just thinking about it). Then scoop out the red peppers afterwards. Also, any reason for brown rice instead of regular white rice?

Thanks for posting this recipe! It’s my favorite Szechuan dish! Do you have any advice for those of us who don’t have a clay pot? Would it be absolutely terrible if I used a metal stove top pot instead? Can’t wait to try this recipe!

Made this recipe almost exactly to the letter. The change I made was took a block of silken tofu, sliced it into same size pieces as the fish and layered it in between the cabbage and the fish. Can I just say that this came out AMAZING!!! I had this dish at Gourmet Dumpling House in Boston, and that dish has nothing on this. Two hours later and my lips are still burning, in a a great way.

Andrew, None of these ingredients should contain peanuts, but to be safe, you should check all the ingredient labels to make sure none of the ingredients you use are made in a facility that uses peanuts to be perfectly safe.

Bruce, I would say this recipe makes enough for 2-4 depending on what else you’re serving. There’s 1 pound of fish, but it shrinks a bit during cooking. The sauce/soup is very spicy, so it goes a long way with lots of rice.

First time (’bout four months ago), I did it exactly your way (except for using cod), and it rocked. Now, it’s *my* recipe, and I’ve played with it in a number of ways, since I keep a raft of Sichuan and other related seasonings. Yes, you should infer that I make the dish often for me ‘n’ the missus.

Thought of you, since I’m doing this dish for dinner tonight (hearts of milk choy and snow peas in place of the Napa cabbage).

Thanks for the tip on Penzey’s. I’d been buying my Szechuan “peppercorns” at Super-H Mart. Having read a number of articles that suggest there is wide variance in the quality of Szechuan peppercorns in the US, I gave Penzey’s product a try. Yikes! The ones from Penzey’s are more aromatic (even before toasting) and much more numbing. Better still, almost all of the flowers are open – very few seeds.